Dru-Zod (Prime Earth)

Dru-Zod
Mainstream Universe‎‎, 2011‎-present
Gallery
Real Name	Dru-Zod
Other Aliases	Colonel Zod
Relatives	Unnamed mother (deceased), Unnamed father (deceased)
Base Of Operations	Phantom Zone · Krypton
Status
Alignment	Bad
Identity	Public Identity
Citizenship	Kryptonian
Marital Status	Single
Occupation	Soldier
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Eyes	Blue
Hair	Black
Origin
Universe	Prime Earth
Creators	Greg Pak · Ken Lashley
First Appearance	Action Comics Vol 2 #23.2: Zod (November, 2013)

I promise you this: I... will always... be your monster.

— General Zod

History

Dru-Zod was the son of Kyptonian scientists. One day, his family took on a scientific expedition to Krypton's wilderness where they were attacked by dangerous animals. After his mother was killed, Zod's father urged his son to escape. He does so, killing his father in the process to distract the creatures and give himself time to flee. For over a year, Zod managed to survive on his own until being found and rescued by Jor-El and Zor-El.

By adulthood, Zod became a distinguished soldier in the Kryptonian military and became concerned with Krypton's violent neighboring alien species, the Char. Although the Char had remained pacified for the last twenty-seven years, Zod was frustrated by his fellow Kryptonians' lax attitude towards them. In response, he forged a group of like-minded followers, such as his lieutenants Faora and Non, and engineered a false flag operation, creating and unleashing a Char-like creature on Krypton's populace to justify a war against the Char. However, Jor-El discovered Zod's deception and turned him over to the authorities. The Kryptonian Science Council found Zod guilty of treason and sentenced him and his followers to be exiled to the Phantom Zone.

Many years later, a mysterious event caused the Phantom Zone to weaken, allowing some of its prisoners to escape into normal space. Zod traveled to Earth, landing in the Sahara Desert. There, Zod's Kryptonian powers began to manifest for the first time, brutally slaughtering a group of travelers. Zos was soon attacked by the Justice League of America (Prime Earth) until Superman and Wonder Woman arrived, the latter restraining him with her magic lasso. Zod recognized Superman as Kal-El, the son of Jor-El. Superman decides to keep Zod in the Fortress of Solitude's alien zoo. While there, he reveals to Superman that Faora also traveled to Earth with him, who vows to track her down.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Kryptonian Physiology: Under the effects of a "yellow" sun, The average Kryptonian possesses the potential for the following power set:
  • Solar Energy Absorption: Under optimal conditions, this is the main source of their super powers as they are contingent upon exposure to solar radiation from a yellow sun star system. Their biological make up includes a number of organs which lack analogues in humans and whose functions are unknown. It is believed that between one or more of these and their bio-cellular matrix, "yellow" solar energy is stored for later use. This allows for the use of these powers to fade when yellow solar radiation is not available instead of immediate failure.
  • Heat Vision: Kryptonians can, as a conscious act, fire beams of intense heat at a target by looking at it. Typically, the power is seen as two beams of red light emanating from the eyes. These beams can be made invisible, allowing the power to be undetectable. The maximum temperature of their heat vision is said to be around that of a nuclear detonation. They can also consciously determine the area affected, down to the microscopic level.
  • Super-Hearing: Kryptonian hearing is sensitive enough to hear any sound at any volume or pitch. With skill, practice, and concentration, they can block out ambient sounds to focus on a specific source or frequency. As such, they can identify a person by their heartbeat, or pick out a single voice in an entire city.
  • Enhanced Vision: Kryptonian vision processes the entire electromagnetic spectrum as well as allowing vast control over selective perception and focus.
    This umbrella ability includes the following:
    • Electromagnetic Spectrum Vision: Kryptonians can see well into most of the electromagnetic spectrum. They can see and identify radio and television signals as well as all other broadcast or transmitted frequencies. Using this ability, they can avoid detection by radar or satellite monitoring methods. This also allows them to see the aura generated by living thing.
    • Telescopic Vision: This is the ability to see something at a great distance, without violating the laws of physics. Though limited, the exact extent of the ability is undetermined. In function, it is similar to the zoom lens on a camera.
    • X-Ray Vision: This is the ability to see through any volume of matter except lead. Kryptonians can see things behind a solid, opaque object as if it were not there. They can focus this ability to "peel back" layers of an object, allowing hidden image or inner workings to be observed. The exact type of energy perceived—such as x-rays, cosmic rays, or some other energy invisible to normal humans—is unclear. This ability perceives an ambient energy source though, it does not involve the eye projecting a concentrated, possibly toxic, beam to be reflected back from objects.
    • Microscopic Vision: This is the ability to see extremely small objects and images down to the atomic level.
    • Infrared Vision: Kryptonians can see with better acuity in darkness, and to a degree in total darkness.
  • Flight: Kryptonians are able to manipulate graviton particles, in an unknown and apparently unconscious manner, to defy the forces of gravity. Under one Earth gravity, they are capable of speeds of multi-Mach speeds in Earth's atmosphere. Their control of their flight is very precise and they can perform aerobatic feats such as hovering, flying backwards and even lifting great weights while flying.
  • Invulnerability: The bodies of Kryptonians are nigh-invulnerable to extreme energy forces. In addition, their immune systems protects them from toxins and diseases. The most common explanations for this rely on the presences of a super-dense molecular structure, a supercharged bio-electric aura which acts as an invisible force field, or a combination of the two. A byproduct of the aura is that items close to the skin share their invulnerability. Using clothing as an example, loose fitting fabric would tend to shred or burn in adverse conditions, but skin tight outfits would not.
    • Enhanced Immunity
  • Superhuman Stamina: Kryptonians have the ability to maintain continuous strenuous physical action for an indefinite period of time. In theory they have unlimited stamina as their enhanced nourishment is produced from the yellow solar energy their cells process, which also provides the majority of the power for their superhuman abilities. However, their base physical structures do need to process food stuffs and they have a psychological need to eat and drink just as Earth humans do. They also require sleep on occasion so that they can dream. They can also hold their breath for an indefinite period of time.
  • Superhuman Strength: A Kryptonian develops enhanced physical strength after absorbing a sufficient amount of yellow solar radiation. This radiation interacts with the greater than human density, resilience and biological efficiency of their musculature to trigger superhuman levels. While the exact magnitude of their strength is unknown, it is generally accepted that it is sufficient to lift 100,000 tons or more. The specific range is unknown as a their strength, like their other powers, may fluctuate over time. Their strength is also more an act of conscious will on energy fields than actual physical strength. It is this act of conscious will that enables them to perform physical feats that are beyond the mere application force, such as moving a mountain top without said rock crumbling under its own mass. At full power, their normal strength levels are well into the multi-megaton range.
  • Superhuman Speed: Kryptonians are able to move at incredible speeds by sheer force of will. They can match most other speedsters in super-fast movements, reactions, and processes. They can use this power to disarm opponents without heightened reflexes, catch bullets or shrapnel or cross vast distances in seconds.
    This also confers:
    • Superhuman Agility
    • Superhuman Reflexes
  • Super-Breath: Kryptonians are able to create hurricane force winds by exhaling air from their lungs. They can chill the air as it leaves their lungs to freeze targets in a variation sometimes called "freeze" or "arctic breath". They can also reverse the process and pull large volumes of air or vapor into their lungs.
  • Longevity: Kryptonians can live longer than regular humans, remaining at their prime as long as they was under the exposure of the "yellow" sun.
  • Vulnerability to Kryptonite
  • Vulnerability to Magic

Abilities

• Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced): General Zod has trained in the ways of combat for many years. He has fought creatures twice his size and armored men with only his hands. He is a trained soldier and is not above killing.
• Science: Ever since Zod was a child he was trained to have an analytic mind, growing and raising small genetic animals. He used this knowledge to fool Krypton into a war.
• Survival: When Zod was a child, his parents were killed on a scientific expedition into Krypton's wilderness. He was forced to survive on his own for a year before being rescued.
• Weaponry: Zod is as trained with his fists as he is with weapons. He used primitive bows and arrows as a child, small arms as a soldier and various other Kryptonian weapons throughout his military career.

Notes

• General Zod was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp, first appearing in Adventure Comics Vol 1. However, in the rebooted Prime Earth continuity his first appearance as part of the DC Universe is in Greg Pak and Ken Lashley's New 52 Action Comics series.

Related

• 90 Appearances of Dru-Zod (Prime Earth)
• 67 Images featuring Dru-Zod (Prime Earth)
• 13 Quotations by or about Dru-Zod (Prime Earth)
• Character Gallery: Dru-Zod (Prime Earth)

Footnotes

Superman Villain(s) This character has been primarily an enemy of Superman in any of his various incarnations, or members of the Superman Family. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Superman Villains category."